Secretary to the Treasury, Neermal Rekha, yesterday distanced himself from a widening scandal over a remigrants scam saying he couldn't be expected to verify whether the Foreign Minister's signature had been forged on documents sent to the Finance Ministry.

In a statement issued less than a minute before one from the government announcing a further probe of the scam, Rekha said it was customary that documents signed by government ministers be checked and verified by the issuing ministry - in this case the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He said he merely upheld the status granted when he signed documents from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which might have been forged. A key part of the scam appears to be the forging of the signature of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on documents sent to the Ministry of Finance for approval.

Rekha insisted that he signed the letters granting duty-free concessions on the basis that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave the appropriate clearance.

"Based primarily on the two declarations and the original signature of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, I would usually sign the letters. I would not in any way be aware if the signature of the Minister or any other is altered in any way," he said.

Rekha said in a written statement to the media that his desk is swamped with issues which require his signature and he is not equipped with the manpower and other resources to re-interview each remigrant and check every page of documents presented. He contended that this is the function of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He said also that the issue of authenticity of signature on the documents is "indeed alarming" but that his office is not technically or otherwise equipped to pronounce on the validity of the signature. "Clearly, I would not in any way be aware if the package emanating from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would in any (way) be amended or changed by anyone," he said. He added that if alterations or amendments are detected then appropriate action must be taken against all parties. "The staff at the Ministry of Finance is fully aware of this and are also aware of the consequences. I will not in any way tolerate anyone falsifying any document to defraud the government of its revenue," he said in the statement.

Rekha said that he is committed and supportive of a comprehensive and full investigation "not only to identify any wrongdoing, but also to point out weaknesses in the system. He said that records have been handed over to the Police and that the investigation is continuing. He added "if it is so required that further space be given for greater and more in-depth investigation, again I stand committed and would take all necessary steps required to allow a fair and transparent investigation".

He said that when he assumed the post of Secretary to the Treasury, he inherited a system with the same staff who dealt with duty-free issues at both the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In explaining the system, he said that an intended remigrant would approach the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with all the relevant documents and among those documents would be two statutory declarations that a notary public signs. Rekha said that based on the Guidelines of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the package is prepared and signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

He said that after this, the documents are sent to his office for his signature.